Been on "dont do this stupid workout, do that one" for a long time now. I've gained some good strength and a little bit of size. I'm currently 6'0 196-8 in the morning and like 203 at the gym. I have a bunch of buddies on the local JC football team and they keep telling me to play for the team and Im thinking about doing it. Im looking at playing free safety and I know the average size, atleast around here, is 6'0 195lbs.

I know that if I start doing my footwork and 40's and conditioning im going to drop weight like crazy. Im an extreme hardgainer. So before practice starts for walk ons in about a month, maybe a little longer, I'm looking to gain some mass. I'm not sure what to do. Anybody have a good offseason football program.

I know the coach wont give a sh*t if I weigh 180 versus 195 as long as I play well and practice, but I'd like to add some size.

Dustinsk wrote:
Been on "dont do this stupid workout, do that one" for a long time now. I've gained some good strength and a little bit of size.

Exactly how long is "a long time now", exactly what is "some good strength", and exactly how much is "a little bit of size"?

In other words, how long have you been on the program, how much bodyweight did you gain in that time, and what are your current bests on the basic lifts? (To get a better idea of where you're coming from.) Also, about how lean are you right now - a little pudgy, average-ish, well-defined/kinda ripped, etc.?

I'm currently 6'0 196-8 in the morning and like 203 at the gym. ... Im looking at playing free safety and I know the average size, atleast around here, is 6'0 195lbs.

So you know the average (ideal or expected) size for the position you're looking to play, you're already that size, and your focus is on getting even bigger rather than building conditioning, agility, and athleticism? Okay.

I know that if I start doing my footwork and 40's and conditioning im going to drop weight like crazy. Im an extreme hardgainer.

Like JFG said, there really aren't "hardgainers". There are guys who underestimate how many calories they really need or overestimate how many calories they actually eat.

So before practice starts for walk ons in about a month, maybe a little longer, I'm looking to gain some mass. I'm not sure what to do. Anybody have a good offseason football program.

If practice starts in a month or so, I wouldn't say you're offseason so much as you're pre-season. Semantics, possibly, but it's relevant in terms of how much size you can reasonably expect to gain. Again, I think your time would be better spent making sure your conditioning and agility are up to snuff. Presuming you haven't been doing much hard cardio during your time on the "Don't do that/do this" routine, you've got to at least build a good base before the practices kick in.

If you only have a month left, I'm not sure how much size you're going to pack on. I currently play college ball and can honestly say if you move well and can hit well at your size at the free safety position you'll play fairly well. Especially for the level you're going out for. Personally speaking with a month left I'd start gearing more towards any lifting testing that will be going on as well as conditioning workouts and forty testing.

I play JC ball too, dude if you've only got a month your not going to gain much... but you can take advantage and lift to exercise your tendons and ligaments. I play corner. You, like me are in the secondary, we move a lot in awkward motions going for the ball and making plays in the air.
I'd stick with heavy compound lifts and exercises for stabilization, and yeah speed work. Good luck

So I ended up transferring to a 4 year university and did not play at my local JC. I have just emailed one of the coaches on the team to talk about walking on as a safety. Upon waiting for a response, I know the time that walk ons will be will most likely be spring ball. Currently, I'm 6'1 215lbs at 12% BF? (Still have visible abs, not too sure what bf is exactly though). As far as my stats go,

Bench: 275x6, 315x1
Squat: 365x2, 380x1
Deadlift: Not currently doing them, but a month ago was 505x1 with straps

As far as size goes, I'm fairly confident at my size now. I'm planning on now starting to work on agility and speed. The last time I ran a 40 was senior year of highschool, where I ran a 4.7 out of shape. Since a lot of guys on here play football, how should I start working on agility/speed? I'll definitely start running some 40's, but other than that I'm pretty much clueless. I was thinking about doing some HIIT but again I'm not positive what would be best. What do you guys think?

Dustinsk wrote:
So I ended up transferring to a 4 year university and did not play at my local JC. I have just emailed one of the coaches on the team to talk about walking on as a safety. Upon waiting for a response, I know the time that walk ons will be will most likely be spring ball. Currently, I'm 6'1 215lbs at 12% BF? (Still have visible abs, not too sure what bf is exactly though). As far as my stats go,

Bench: 275x6, 315x1
Squat: 365x2, 380x1
Deadlift: Not currently doing them, but a month ago was 505x1 with straps

As far as size goes, I'm fairly confident at my size now. I'm planning on now starting to work on agility and speed. The last time I ran a 40 was senior year of highschool, where I ran a 4.7 out of shape. Since a lot of guys on here play football, how should I start working on agility/speed? I'll definitely start running some 40's, but other than that I'm pretty much clueless. I was thinking about doing some HIIT but again I'm not positive what would be best. What do you guys think?

First off, who cares if you can see your abs. Is it a requirement for your position?

Second, you were given lots of info before, with links. Hell, one has incorporated sprints (Hint: Linear Speed Workout).

So, do you follow a program mentioned above since last you ask for advice?

Dustinsk wrote:
I have just emailed one of the coaches on the team to talk about walking on as a safety. Upon waiting for a response, I know the time that walk ons will be will most likely be spring ball.

Dustinsk wrote:
I have just emailed one of the coaches on the team to talk about walking on as a safety. Upon waiting for a response, I know the time that walk ons will be will most likely be spring ball.

Sorry I bailed out last time. I just didn't think I was transferring and never considered playing football after thinking about that. Now that I have transferred the possibility has come back, and I want to take advantage of it. This possibility just opened up so until now my workout has not be based around a football protocol. Its been a 4-5 day hypertrophy split.

Bench: 275x6, 315x1
Squat: 365x2, 380x1
Deadlift: Not currently doing them, but a month ago was 505x1 with straps

Like I asked way back when, what were these numbers when you started this thread?

265x4 bench
deadlift 465x1
squat 315x4
I really increased my deadlifts the last few months, I was doing meadows' reactive pump program and that made my dead increase a lot.

Why don't you deadlift right now and why is your bench so close to your squat? Also, what do you clean?

Right now I'm not deadlifting, because it wasn't in the program that I'm currently on, which is just a split. But coming this week, I'm going to put it in as my initial lift on back day. And... Way back ago when I started lifting at 16, lol, I didn't think legs were necessary. This mind set continued until I was about 18, then started hitting legs. Soon after hurt my hip, stopped for a few months and was on and off. For the last year, I've been constantly hitting legs, sometimes I'll do them twice a week and they're finally growing and getting stronger. So, thats why my bench is close to my squat. And again, I haven't cleaned in about a year, but last year I did them for a month, and I got my clean and jerk to 250lbs.

As far as size goes, I'm fairly confident at my size now. I'm planning on now starting to work on agility and speed. The last time I ran a 40 was senior year of highschool

To be clear, have you done any cardio in the six months or so?

About, 10mins of biking before my lifting...lol, but I'm naturally a thin guy with a runners background.

how should I start working on agility/speed?

I think you should start some basic running drills... seven and a half months ago, as previously suggested.

Agreed. Should I do any long distance? Or just do sprints? Way back when I ran track I ran the 800.

I was thinking about doing some HIIT but again I'm not positive what would be best.

HIIT is essentially a fat loss protocol. It's not best-suited to building speed or agility.

Thanks for the info

JFG wrote:
So, do you follow a program mentioned above since last you ask for advice?

Very valid question, which will also determine how much more time I invest in dishing advice. Especially since the OP bailed last time and left relevant follow-up questions unanswered.

Honestly no, I thought football was out of the question so I just continued with my split. I'm looking at them now to find what I think would work best for me

Dustinsk wrote:
For the last year, I've been constantly hitting legs, sometimes I'll do them twice a week and they're finally growing and getting stronger. So, thats why my bench is close to my squat. And again, I haven't cleaned in about a year, but last year I did them for a month, and I got my clean and jerk to 250lbs.

Gotcha. I think it's safe to say you can cut back on the bench and keep it on "maintenance", while shifting the focus to more athletic-based training (strength, speed, power). And x2 on getting back into the clean and/or clean and jerk.

Agreed. Should I do any long distance? Or just do sprints? Way back when I ran track I ran the 800.

To quote Wendler, when in doubt, sprint or run hills. ;) But really anything's going to be a good start for now. At this point, something relatively-lower intensity (for a little while) would be a start to build that conditioning base before dialing it up. http://www.T-Nation.com/...onditioning_101

It's been about two weeks and the coach has not emailed me back. Should I try emailing another coach, or should I just stand by?

Sorry, not sure about the protocol on this. I'd say e-mail another coach, unless that's going to look like you're going over the first coach's head. In which case, I guess either follow-up with that guy or keep waiting.